talking to recruiters

[austin'sproudmomma]

Hi, I am just getting started with this site, my son has been in his school ROTC program (this is his fourth year) and  is due to graduate in june, 2015, he has already talked to his recruiter, his dad and I are to meet with him this Saturday. Are they any specific questions we need to ask.

[austin'sproudmomma]

thank you for the information, not sure if it was a practice asvab or not will have to ask him, but he did say his recruiter said he only had to score a 78 percent tile so this gives me some information to question him about again thanks

[BunkerQB]

My son was a nuke officer. I am familiar w the Nuke Program. Today, most of the enlisted recruits going into the Nuke program score typically between 95 to 99 percentile on the ASVAB. I am sure there are exceptions. Your son's recruiter should be able to give him some statistics. Good luck.

[austin'sproudmomma]

also thank you for your information, I will really have to question this recruiter, because my son was considering medical till the recruiter told him he had other choices. This has been very helpful.

[Jenni1453]

Also keep in mind that medical is a very popular choice. When it comes to promotions, he would be up against a lot more people. Maybe take a look at some of the less popular jobs and see if he likes any of those? 

[Navymom2014]

Hi, my son is in bootcamp at the moment and he had four years NJROTC also. Definitely have him study for the ASVAB.  I bought my son a book but his teacher in NJROTC will probably have some materials to help and the recruiter will also have ASVAB practices for him.  Master Chief (my sons NJROTC teacher) was a huge help.  So definitely speak with him/her since they will be able to guide you as well.  My son is going Nuke, he wanted it and scored a 95 on his ASVAB.  If your son wants to go Nuke, I think there is a second test he can take to help him qualify.  He also went is as an E-3 with the 4 years NJROTC.

Good luck and any questions please let me know and I will try to answer for you!

[austin'sproudmomma]

Thanks, I will check with his teacher and see about getting some materials this is his 4th year his school is a MCJROTC. The recruiter also told him he would go in as an E-3. I think I am starting to have some doubts about this recruiter. I plan to talk to his teacher before I talk to the recruiter. Thank you for all you help and information, greatly appreciated.

[Concernedad]

If your son is still in school, I'm pretty sure what he took was the practice test. That's fine, it should give him a fairly good idea about the test and how he should do. However, don't wait for his teacher to help out, go to the local bookstore and buy a study book. It is very similar to the SAT study books. My son got a 95 on the practice test, then after studying, got a 97 percentile on the real exam, and my son told me it was helpful.

As to his recruiter, don't lose faith yet. There is a difference between the recruiter who outright lies to you, and the one who just doesn't know. Again, Nuke is a different animal altogether and very likely the recruiter knows little about it. Keep asking questions, and talk to the moms' here who have kids in Nuke. 
Also, don't automatically turn away from all the other opportunities out there. Have your son look over the Navy website to see what all the jobs do. He may find something that really interests him. Just like in college, there are those who know exactly what major they want, and some that take some time to find their calling. 

[austin'sproudmomma]

thank you, and I will keep the faith.

[Veronica]

I learned to try to pin the recruiter down as early on as possible.  We had to go back to our son's pediatrician three times, because at each stage we were told by his recruiter that she needed something different.  First it was just certain pages out of his medical record.  Then it was a statement by the pediatrician that my son had not shown any symptom of asthma since the age of 5.  Then, she noticed something she hadn't before in our son's medical questionnaire, about a condition he has that sometimes produces chest muscle spasms (though he had correctly answered the questions about it the first time he sat down with her).  By this time he had turned 18, so the medical releases my husband and I had completed weren't sufficient for the pediatrician anymore under HIPAA.  So our son had to do another release.  At that point, we told him to simply ask for his whole medical folder from the ped so that, if it was decided something else was needed, at least he'd already have it and not have to bother the ped again.  At long last, everything is assembled and has been sent up to await a date for MEPS, but we could have had this all wrapped up a couple of months ago.  I like the recruiter personally, but each time we or our son have met with her, I've had the feeling that she might have him mixed up with someone else.  All this by way of saying, make sure when you talk to or meet with the recruiter after the initial meeting that they remember your child and his particular interests, issues, etc.  You might save yourself some delays.

[bellarose]

I agree with the others to do your research prior to meeting with the recruiter.  We too are in the early stages and we were not told accurate information.  Fortunately we did do our homework and I contacted Navy personnnel in San Diago to clarify accurate information.  I of course saved the emails for when my son does enlist later this year.

Hopefully your meeting goes well, just research what you can before and confirm after the meeting if you are not clear or sure about what the recruiter says.

Best of luck!!!

[lemonelephant]

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/recruiter.htm is getting old (it was written in 2004), but it still has some very good information about the enlistment process.